


Book Bound

by Valshaena



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 03:30:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18023924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valshaena/pseuds/Valshaena
Summary: Vilkas' night of solitary reading in the mead hall disturbed by Myjalla's return and subsequent loot sorting.





	Book Bound

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Honour Bound](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/462230) by Atomicvegemite. 



He had just settled in to a seat upstairs in the mead hall with his book. Feet stuck out towards the warmth of the fire. Everyone was either on job or carousing down at the Bannered Mare. Normally he would be there with them but tonight he felt like reading.

The sound of the great doors opening and shutting roughly brought him out of his book with a start. He angrily looks up and catches the eyes of the newest whelp, a redheaded nord who glances at him apologetically scurrying to another seat across the hall. He didn't remember her name. It didn't matter till she had proven herself. No point in getting too acquainted if she was just going to get herself killed. He frowned as his eyes settled back to his page looking for where he left off. So much for a night to himself and his book. His eyes came back up again when her pack hit the floor with a loud bang. What did she have in that thing? Ingots? Ore? Her face colored under his glare. She started digging in said pack and pulled out a couple of bottles of mead. One she offered to him with an apologetic smile. He accepts with a nod the frown turning to curiosity seemingly aimed at the mead. He unstoppers the bottle downing a third of it in two thirsty swallows nodding approvingly at the Blackbriar brew. He goes back to his book yet again looking for where he might have left off and an appropriate place to pick back up.

Well Myjalla couldn't really expect him to say much to her. She had interrupted his reading and knowing how irritable she gets when interrupted she felt lucky she got off at lightly as she had. Of course the mead helped. Trying to keep her motions small and quiet so as not to disturb Vilkas any further she pulled out charcoal and her own book opening it to the appropriate page and setting a small dagger across it to hold it open and settled to emptying her pack. There were probably about a hundred books in it this time and she needed to go through them. She stacked them neatly on the floor next to her chair. There were several more unopened bottles of mead in there as well that she began setting on the table. She started picking them up one at a time going through them and checking against the list in her book to see if it was one she already had and setting it in one of the growing stacks. Some she knew she already had and sifted through them quickly to see if there were notes hidden between the leaves of parchment before setting them aside. Others were journals she had found and expected to give her further insight on what she had seen. Some rare some common. Several were carefully added to list of her collection with dates and locations found listed with the title and set aside to be read later. 

He had managed to get a few more pages in before he realized what she had spread all over the table. He continued to read glancing up every page turn to note the increasing height of the book stacks. He finally quit going back to his book to just watch her. Where did she get all these books? He reached across and picked one up and examined it not seeing the irritated raised eyebrow shot at him. This one in particular was exquisitely bound, the pages still in good condition a few tho were a bit bent one had a crease.

"I found that one on a job in the Rift." His eyes snapped up surprised. She was gazing distantly at the book in his hand. "I found it open on its face a few of the pages bent under." Her eyes took on a disapproving glint. "No way I could leave it there. Relieved the place of the rest of its library while I was there. Got about a third of these there." She had settled her hips a bit further forward in the chair as she leaned back ankles crossed over feet, knees propped against the table. Another book lay across her lap. She watched him reverently handle the book and seemed to come to a decision. "You can keep that one if you want. I already have a copy of it back at Breezehome. I was going to sell it along with the rest of the duplicates to another collector I know."

A faint smile was all the thanks she got as his intense gaze took in the book and began reading it. But that was all the thanks she needed as she bent her own gaze back to the book in her lap.

**Author's Note:**

> Found this in my DA acct under the same username. Originally posted there 7 yrs ago with the following note.
> 
> "I was reading Honour Bound by Atomicvegemite over on FF.net and decided to check out the reviews. One phrase by athos-aramis sparked this little twitch that has been bugging me all day to be written. "Oh Vilkas and his love of the Companion history!" So thank her for this bit of inspiration.
> 
> Skyrim and all its contents belong to Bethesda I just get to play in it."


End file.
